Tuition/contracts/fees - need advice

[ElectricVersion]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I definitely felt like it was way to much... I shouldn't have to pay extra to get what I should be getting anyway, (the full hour for example). Not to mention they have "special" stuff they give sometimes. Like, coming up is "5 animals week", where they have classes teaching (the basics i'm sure of) the 5 animal styles. Price for this.... $300. When i saw that on the sign up sheet, i was like "this school is definitely a money pit".

I am looking into other arts/styles (a friend of mine does Aikido and loves it) and at another Kung Fu school too.

For now, all i signed up for was 6 months at the $100/month rate, so i'll make the most of it, then transition into another school towards the end of the year.

Again, thanks for all the advice, and anyone else who wants to comment, please feel free.

[Lama Pai Sifu]

EV,

What is the name of the school and who is the instructor?

[ShaolinTiger00]

John Gruden is probably drinking a mojito on a beach right now laughing all the way to the bank..

[Spark]

i found another kung-fu place not too far from me in new jersey...

www.peterkwokskungfuacademy.com tell me what you think.

$95 a month, no contracts, hour and a half classes, and the workout space looks really big, nice & spacious.

Grandmaster in the art of kung fu???

Keep looking!

[SevenStar]

30 mins too short you think? No, not if you are doing Taebo or cardio kickboxing. LOL....

Warm regards

Mantis108

you're absolutely right. tae bo is the real street lethal!

[yutyeesam]

Grandmaster in the art of kung fu???

Keep looking!

LOL

began learning the secrets of the Shao Lin Monks

LMAO

[yutyeesam]

What is the industry standard for private instruction, given by an

a. assistant instructor
b. senior instructor
c. master

my guess is $60, $80, $100 an hour, respectively.

[Ford Prefect]

From my experience, Lama Pai Sifu is dead wrong. Some good instructors that were in my area that charged less with no contracts, enrollment fees, and had great facilities:

Yang Jwing-Ming ($85/mo)

Boston San Shou ($75-85/mo)

Mistunari Kanai: 8th dan aikido and 10-year live-in student of Ueshiba. He passed away last year though. RIP ($75/mo)

Roberto Maia: Blackbelt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu recieved in 1988 from Carlos Gracie Jr, who is Renzo's dad, at Gracie Barra. Was a regular training partner of Renzo and the Machado's. ($100/mo)

Judo w/Olympian Jimmy Pedro: (under $50/mo I believe)

That's just the people whose schools I visitted or trained at. There are other good instructors with good facilities.

[Lama Pai Sifu]

Hey....I'm not saying that schools that don't charge enough don't have good facilities. Not at all! I'm saying that most schools that don't charge enough (compared to an industry standard) can't AFFORD nice facilities. Not all, most.

And by the way, our opinion regarding nice, is certainly subjective, isn't it? I used to like training in crappy places that we used to rent in chinatown. You wouldn't catch me dead, training in the same places today. I trained in my Sifu's little apartment and on the roofs in Brooklyn almost every day of summer. I wouldn't like to train there now.

And again, it's comparitive, isn't it? I thought my school 15 years ago was nice, until a saw much nicer schools. Know what I mean?

So, I'm not putting anyone down, I'm just making an observation. I've got $8500 worth of matting in the school I teach in. If I didn't charge enough, I couldn't afford to buy it, etc, etc.

[ElectricVersion]

clear something up for me. you find it funny they mention Grandmaster Kwok, and "learning the secrets of the shaolin monks..." is it because there's no way he can be a Grandmaster or have "learned the secrets", or am I missing something? Is it just cheezy and sounding like BS? I'm new to this, but if someone could explain to me why that's a sign to stay away from the school that would be helpful. "keep looking" and "LOL" doesn't help me learn WHY that's a bad sign. thanks.

[GreenCloudCLF]

I think it's amazing peoples views on this subject. Everyone wants to find a good instructor but no one wants to pay for it. I personally would rather train with someone who is good and pay them for their services. I would rather train with someone who is relaxed and has time to train than someone with a second job and worries about whether or not he can keep the doors open, or the lights on.

It is worth the money.

As for McKwoon theory, I think everyone agrees there are many aspects og Kung-Fu to train. I see no problem with holding seminars to cover material not featured in the regular class curriculum. I just learned a Gim form, this is something I would not have seen for sometime in my school, and guess what it was worth the money I invested.

I am willing to pay for the knowledge. My instructor chose to teach Kung-FU for a living, why shouldn't he be well compensated. Personal trainers who get good results can charge from hundreds, to even thousands of dollars, does someone who teaches weight training deserve more money than a Kung Fu instructor.

[Spark]

clear something up for me. you find it funny they mention Grandmaster Kwok, and "learning the secrets of the shaolin monks..." is it because there's no way he can be a Grandmaster or have "learned the secrets", or am I missing something? Is it just cheezy and sounding like BS? I'm new to this, but if someone could explain to me why that's a sign to stay away from the school that would be helpful. "keep looking" and "LOL" doesn't help me learn WHY that's a bad sign. thanks.

I don't know if they wrote that to be vague and a marketing tool, but to be a "Grandmaster in the art of Kung Fu" ... ???

If you look around here you'll see most people aren't impressed by people with titles that puff themselves up. Kung Fu as I know it is the word which encompasses all chinese martial arts, so to be a Grandmaster in "Kung Fu" kinda doesn't make sense to me.

And you'll see/hear that usually when someone says they learned some "secret" it's a BS marketing ploy to get you to learn from them and they'll always tell how they know the "secret" and once you're there long enough they'll show it to you ... but the years go by and by and by ... Almost there (a few more $$$), then I'll show you the secrets I learned from teh Shaolin monks!!

[tjmitch]

Where is this school located?

[ElectricVersion]

Makes sense to me. Yeah, looking around the net i even found a website addressing the use of titles such as Grandmaster, which are just bad english translations that are incredibly useful for marketing.

So it's kind of disenchanted me with martial arts places. I'm sure there is some "real deal" place around me, i just need to keep looking. What are some tips for identifying quality schools?

Since I've only just begun taking MA, i'm considering trying another style. I originally wanted to take Kung-fu, based mostly on how it looks. Very dance like, it can be tremendously aggressive and still awesomely graceful all at once. It seemed like more of a well-rounded, balanced art while most Japanese styles seemed like bits and pieces of Kung-fu.

A friend of mine takes Aikido at a school he really likes. Small place, converted garage studio, so it's all people that really wanna be there, no overmarketing or BS.

No harm training in some other style i suppose till i one day find a kung-fu school that seems decent. I may even like the new style and never look back.

thanks again everyone for pointing out the good and bad.. . this forum is very helpful.. i'm glad i stumbled upon it.

i live and work in the rockland/westchester county, NY area by the way. for anyone who is curious. anyone who knows schools they like around here, Kung Fu or otherwise, let me know!

[Lama Pai Sifu]

Electric Vision,

What school do you train in now? I know many instructors in NY, and I can tell you if I THINK they are worth it.